The Atlanta Falcons managed to hang on to their lead in a wild, sloppy matchup on Monday Night Football.
Though the team took a 20-7 lead into halftime, the Broncos would go down fighting and made sure to keep it close, with two TD runs scored by Willis McGahee in the final five minutes of the ball game.
But outside of the near fourth quarter collapse, the Falcons defense was nothing short of dominant. They held Peyton Manning to only 240 yards passing, picked him off three times, and sacked him three times. Safety William Moore was all over the field, racking up eight total tackles, an intercpetion, a sack, and big hits on several Broncos players.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Falcons weren't nearly as explosive as last week's win over the Chiefs, but they certainly got the job done.
The running game was once again a non-factor, with Michael Turner only managing 42 yards on 17 carries, but offensive line continued to be an extremely pleasant surprise. In a game involving two excellent pass rushers in Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil, Matt Ryan was only sacked once.
Ryan himself was pretty sharp as well. Though he only totaled 219 yards on the night, he took good care of the ball and threw two touchdowns. Roddy White had another big MNF performance, catching eight passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.
All in all, it was a crazy and incredibly lengthy primetime game, but one that should have sports pundits and the national media talking about the Falcons as legitimate contenders going forward this season.
Also, your weekly reminder that Willy Mo is, indeed, always ready:
W.A.R. (WillyMo Always Ready) (via carterboyz131)
For more on the Atlanta Falcons, head over to The Falcoholic, and be sure to check out SBNation's dedicated NFL hub for news and analysis.